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by Jayaram V
When we attempt to understand the nature of a religion, first
we
have to examine the thought process that went into the formation
of that religion. The purpose of this article is to examine whether
Hinduism relies upon any particular text as the basis of its existence.
A religion with too many gospels
If we look at modern day Hinduism, we realize that in contrast
to other major religions, it does not rely exclusively upon any
particular scripture, though it derives its inspiration from various
sources starting with the Vedas called shrutis, the smritis, the
agamas, the shastras, the darshanas, the Bhagavad-Gita, the great
body of Vaishnava literature, the works of Shri Shankaracharya,
Shri Ramanujacharya and so on.
But it is difficult to say that all Hindus would derive inspiration
from these books equally or venerate them equally. Some might not
even bother to read or follow these books, but would simply go by
the teachings of their respective gurus or great teachers. Some
might even read the Bible or the Koran and appreciate the similarities
in teachings between them and the books of Hinduism.
And if we look at the whole lot of illiterate people of India
who constitute almost 50 % of the population, who are mostly Hindus,
we realize the incredible and unquestionable impact of tradition
rather than any particular scripture on the religious life of Indian
Hindus.
Unlike their counterparts in medieval Europe who were regarded
by the Church as a special responsibility, although the poorer sections
of Hindu society remained for most of the time in the long and checkered
history of the religion, mostly outside the purview of any organized
religious activity, their loyalty to the traditions of their ancestors
has been unquestionable.
Their religion might be termed by the modern scholars as folk
religion, based on simple faith. But they were very much Hindus
at heart and were equally moved by a mythological story from the
puranas, and the epics like the Ramayana or the Mahabharata.
The Vedas (Shrutis) and the Bhedas (Apasrutis) !
During the Vedic period there was little confusion as to the
importance and supremacy of sacred literature. The Vedas were considered
to be very sacred and eternal, the Shrutis, or the books that were
as" heard". But during the subsequent period, a lot of rival literature
gathered ammunition against the Vedas questioning their supremacy
and challenging their religious validity.
Foremost among them were the Buddhist literature, the Jaina literature,
Sankhya literature, the beliefs of the Lokayatas or Charvakas and
interestingly even substantial portions of the Bhakti or devotional
literature including the Bhagavad-Gita which was the true spirit
behind the Bhakti movement.
Rise of vernacular literature
With the rise of native dialects came into existence a vast corpus
of religious literature in several native languages. This coupled
with the decline of Sanskrit as the medium of communication even
among the scholarly sections of society made the Vedas lose much
of their religious glitter, although they retained some titular
authority through the surviving Vedic traditions, kept alive by
the priestly class.
It is interesting to note that even after the native tradition
came face to face with Islam, the Vedas did not become the authoritative
and unquestionable source of religious knowledge for the natives
on the lines of Koran, although a number of new practices, partly
based on the practices of Islam and partly as a reaction against
them, came to be incorporated into the native religion.
Decline of the Vedas
One reason why the Vedas remained unpopular mostly after the
Vedic period was the exclusive privileges the priestly class accorded
to themselves in all matters concerning the Vedas and the rigidity
with which they tried to guard these books from other sections of
society.
The Vedas became secret knowledge, not to be heard or learned
by those who were not qualified socially for such a purpose. This
went against the spirit of the original tradition and did it a great
damage.
Besides, the ascendance of empty ritualism over spiritualism
and the failure of the vedic priests to answer some of the questions
that perplexed and troubled the inquisitive and scholarly minds,
made people to look in other directions for satisfactory answers.
The age of empty ritualism is now and here
Today a modern Hindu would carefully undergo the whole process of
Vedic ritualism, without understanding the true significance of
the mantras or their meaning with the indifference of a yogi or
the impatience of a modern man.
Whether it is a naming ceremony, marriage ceremony, conception
ceremony or funeral or some other religious ceremony, they observe
the various samskaras and household rituals more out of respect
towards their family traditions or out of fear of offending their
ancestors and gods.
Truly speaking, the spirit of sincerity and of seriousness towards
the Vedic traditions are difficult to come across in modern Hindu
society. His conditioned mind, despite his preoccupations with modern
day materialism, would prompt him to give a chance to tradition
and earn whatever religious merit that might accrue in the process.
He might even show great respect and veneration towards the Vedas
and the performance of the rituals. But it is doubtful if he has
adequate familiarity with such matters and whether he would really
like to follow them in letter and spirit. For inspiration, spiritual
guidance and enlightenment he would, perhaps, look else where.
Modern Hinduism and the religious texts
There is no doubt in the minds of those who are closely observing
the progress of Hinduism in modern times that the religion is gradually
evolving from a religion of superficial ceremonies and rituals into
a religion of deep spirituality and mysticism.
This development is in a way a very positive development and
would ultimately establish Hinduism on firm footing in the modern
age of technology and scientific realism. It is also good for the
progressive evolution of religious thought in line with the growth
of human civilization and the increasing awareness of the human
mind. It would also save the modern man from irreligiousness by
encouraging him to trust his own personal experience rather than
any scriptural authority as a guide to his world- view and his spiritual
solace.
So no wonder, modern Hinduism is increasingly becoming very cautious
in its approach to all books of revelations and scriptural knowledge.
It does not even seem to support the view that a particular way
of life, belief, book or thinking alone would guarantee salvation
to people.
It is wary of the ways of the mind, the fallacy of human thinking,
the illusory nature of the world around, the impermanence and unreliability
of all that is connected to human activity. Whether they emanate
from the supposedly divine source, which most scriptures are, or
from ones own mind or from an authoritative religious source, the
words are but the medium through which the Transcendental Truth
tries to enter our consciousness express itself. But having entered
into the realm of the human consciousness, despite its power to
illuminate the mind, it becomes liable for distortion and manipulation
and subjected to the influence of maya or illusion.
The Vedas, the Upanishads, The Puranas, the two great epics,
the Darshanas, the Sutras, the Smritis, the Bhagavad-Gita and a
whole lot of religious literature, still carry a great significance
on the religious lives of many Hindus. But it is doubtful if modern
day Hinduism would buy the argument that these and these alone would
ensure salvation to an individual, although it does emphasize that
one should live and act in accordance with ones own dharma and the
scriptures. Those who still trust their religious validity look
for new meaning in them and others look else where for their perplexing
questions.
The skepticism of a modern day Hindu, or perhaps his indifference
or lack of interest towards all religious literature, is born out
of the unlimited freedom Hinduism offers to him in his search for
truth. He has the solace and the comfortable feeling of assurance
that his religion and his scriptures give him the liberty to pursue
truth in his own way. Besides the Upanishads and a number of books
declare to him what constitutes true and superior knowledge and
what does not. His mind therefore has the license to soar free into
unknown regions of higher consciousness and come out with rare findings
and new insights.
The Superior knowledge
The Upanishads and the Bhagavad-Gita are very clear in their
approach in this regard. They consider the knowledge that is gained
by reading the scriptures as inferior to the knowledge one gains
through one own experience. Nothing is to be trusted or taken for
granted, however authoritative the source may be, unless one tests
it through ones own experience.
All scriptural knowledge is lower knowledge, which might lead
an individual to heavens but would not guarantee salvation, where
as the knowledge of Brahman and Brahman alone, gained through inner
purification and self-transformation is much more superior, and
would guarantee the final liberation from the cycle of birth and
death. Besides the more educated a mind is, the greater is the need
for its cleansing and purifying before it becomes receptive to divine
knowledge. Knowledge hardens the ego, builds walls of resistance
in the mind and blocks the entry of true Knowledge.
In Hinduism all Truths are welcome
In conclusion we can say that though modern day Hinduism does
not rely upon a particular source of knowledge, it did drew its
inspiration from a great body of diverse religious knowledge during
the course of its evolution starting from the Vedic times till the
present and it still continues to draw inspiration from several
sources even today.
In the past it drew its inspiration mainly from the Vedas including
the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and the Upanishads which constituted
the Shrutis (as heard), the Puranas and the epics which constituted
the Smritis (as remembered), the various dharma shastras, karikas
like Samkhya karika, sutras like Yoga Sutras or Brahma Sutras, the
Bhashyas, the Agamas, the Vedangas, the bhakti literature, the tantras,
the works of great saints like Shri Shankaracharya, Shri Ramanuja
and so on.
Today, apart from the traditional literature, it draws its inspiration
mainly from the teachings and sayings of many modern day saints,
gurus, Bhagawans, rishis, maharishis, peers, babas, saints, philosophers,
even from the space research, atomic research, researches in parapsychology
and so on. If there is one religion which can adopt to any environment
and tune itself to any challenge, it is truly Hinduism. And if there
is one religion which can survive without any particular preacher
or a teaching, it is again Hinduism.
Suggested Further Reading
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